Edward S. Curtis

Cynthia and I went to see a traveling exhibition of Edward Curtis images from the Dubuque Museum of Art collection at the Lightcatcher Museum. That's Curtis in the photo on the right.

Here's a brief description from the brochure.

Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952), born near Whitewater, Wisconsin, spent over 30 years photographing and publishing what has become known as his life’s work. Curtis’ goal was not just to photograph, but to document, as much traditional American Indian life as possible before that way of life disappeared. Against staggering odds and almost constant setbacks, Curtis persisted and in the end he was able to make over 40,000 photographic images of over 80 tribes throughout the American West.

There's a lot more to this story.You can read all about it in Timothy Egan's fascinating biography of Curtis -- Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis. Cynthia and I highly recommend it.

Egan writes an online opinion column for the New York Times, and has authored seven books. 

I almost forgot to mention that the photographs are superb!